When potty-training first begins, my attitude is, “Oh yeah, I’ve got this! We are going to breeze right through this.”

I’m on top of the world all day on the first day because accidents aren’t happening and the child seems to be doing pretty well. Then day two rolls around. The first potty of the morning is great. He/she normally goes potty without any argument. The next potty break hits a slight bump and he/she gets whiny, not wanting to sit on the potty or sits but refuses to eliminate. By the third or fourth potty break, I can feel my angst beginning to rise. By this time there may have been an accident or two. Frustration sets in.

And so it goes for another day or so.

My patience is wearing thin and the child in question is feeling a little impatient him/herself. We’re both ready to throw in the towel at this point.

But, NO! I can’t do it. The child needs to be potty-trained. He/she is old enough and diapers aren’t cheap!

So, I enlist my husband to help. For some reason, he’s an Ace and can get the little monkey’s to go potty, no problem.

I absolutely hate potty training, but we got it accomplished.

Psheeewww, one more time.

I can happily say that my youngest daughter is now P-O-T-T-Y T-R-A-I-N-E-D! Yay!!!

As I said, potty training it HARD!

It’s not fun!

It’s frustrating and makes me want to CRY!

It has to be one of the hardest jobs as a parent (at least in my opinion 😉 ).

But….

It doesn’t have to be.

When potty-training, there are many different tips that one will try to accomplish the task of transitioning from diapers to panties/underwear. The ones that were most beneficial to me from the very first child to the last child, ages 3-17, include the following:

Pray – Praying will bring peace to any aspect of your life, even potty-training! Pray, pray, pray. Ask for God’s help in potty-training. Ask for strength on the more frustrating days. Ask for patience on the less patient days. Give thanks for the chance you been given to potty-train your child. Just pray.

Have Patience – As mentioned, I have no patience. However, I have learned that being patient and letting him/her run the show, much more will get accomplished. The less I fight with my child trying to force him/her to go potty, the less he/she fights me when it comes to going potty.

Timing – I didn’t start potty-training until the age of 3. By this time, the child is waking up with a dry diaper and can voice when he/she has gone potty in his/her diaper. I have met many people who have their children potty-trained by age 2, but age 3 worked better for me.

Enticement – Yes, bribing! Does it work? Once a child makes the connection of elimination in the potty rather than the diaper, bribing does work! It simply reminds the child of that elimination connection and will entice said child to keep using the toilet rather than their clothing, pull-up, or diaper. For my youngest that we just got potty-trained, we have gone through one bag of Starbursts. She’s a happy camper and I’m a happy momma 🙂

Praise – As with most things in their young lives, children liked to be praised for their accomplishment. So, momma’s and daddy’s, don’t forget to praise your child when he/she potties in the toilet. Trust me! He/she will definitely want to keep impressing you if you gush on and on about what an awesome job he/she did. It also keeps building that trust between parent and child that is so important for a child’s development.

Enlist the help of daddy – My husband was has been a lifesaver through each potty-training period. We, as it should be, complement one another in areas each of us lack or are not strong in. For he and I, his patience with potty-training is opposite of mine. Therefore, on the harder days of potty-training, he seems to accomplish the feat of getting the child to go potty without any accidents.

Remember, potty training is just as much a stress for your child as it is for you. The child doesn’t understand the concept, but he/she is willing to learn. Don’t give up, mommy, because you and your child will succeed.